A 22-year-old Pen Argyl man was arrested Monday in last week's attempted robbery of Chubby's convenience store in Forks Township, police said.
Police has asked for the public's help in finding this robber who entered the Chubby's convenience store Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, and demanded cash before fleeing in a beige Cadillac. Police said they charged suspect Zachary A. Farleigh the following Monday. (Courtesy photos | For lehighvalleylive.com)Zachary A. Farleigh fired a shot from a Ruger .40-caliber during the incident about 10:40 a.m. Thursday, Forks police revealed in court records.
Township investigators tracked down Farleigh after receiving a tip about surveillance photos released by police to the media, records say.
One of the photos showed the would-be robber's getaway car, an older beige Cadillac, police had said. A tipster came in Monday to police headquarters with a new photograph of the car observed on an area highway, and it showed the license plate. A distinctive rear window decal is visible in both the surveillance and tipsters' shots, police said.
The car was registered to an address in the 100 block of West Pennsylvania Avenue in Pen Argyl, where police Detective Philomena Kelly visited Monday and spotted the car parked nearby, court records say.
Kelly met with Farleigh, who matched the description of the perpetrator and was wearing the same jeans and brown work boots seen in the surveillance photo, according to police.
He "appeared very nervous and stated that he knew why police were there," arresting officer Michael Friel wrote in court records.
Farleigh admitted to attempting to rob Chubby's, at 2100 Sullivan Trail, and provided police with the jacket, sweatshirt and firearm used in the crime, records say.
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A manager at the store told police the assailant brandished the handgun and demanded money. She said she'd have to get her boss but instead ran out a back door, and the robber fled out the front.
The Ruger contained one spent cartridge, police said: "Zachary A. Farleigh stated that while running out of the store ... he became nervous and discharged one round into the ground."
Farleigh, who lives at the home in the 100 block of West Pennsylvania Avenue, was arraigned Monday afternoon before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner on felony counts of robbery, discharge of firearm into occupied structure and firearms not to be carried without a license.
He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled March 13 before Taschner.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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